Word of the Day Archive
Friday July 1, 2005
garrulous \GAIR-uh-lus; GAIR-yuh-\
, adjective:
1. Talking much, especially about commonplace or trivial things; talkative.
2. Wordy.
Without saying a single word she managed to radiate disapproval . . . the air seemed to grow heavy with it and the most garrulous talker would wilt and fall silent.
-- Mark Amory, Lord Berners: The Last Eccentric
He was as garrulous as a magpie.
-- Ferdinand Mount, Jem (and Sam)
The garrulous ancient was for once holding his tongue.
-- William Black, Madcap Violet
Crammed with gossip, anecdotes, and confessions . . ., his garrulous, untidy narratives read like a good novel.
-- James Atlas, "A Modern Whitman", The Atlantic, December 1984
He took a great liking to this Rev. Mr. Peters, and talked with him a great deal: told him yarns, gave him toothsome scraps of personal history, and wove a glittering streak of profanity through his garrulous fabric that was refreshing to a spirit weary of the dull neutralities of undecorated speech.
-- Mark Twain, "Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion II", The Atlantic, November 1877
Garrulous is from Latin garrulus, from garrire, "to chatter, to babble."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for garrulous
